Vanilla Soufflé
by Sorceress Fantasia
Summary: Spinoff of 'Vanilla'. Part 8: Axel had not wanted a job. Roxas had. They ran into each other in the street corner that connected Twilight Street and Dusk Road. Roxas got his job. So did Axel.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Vanilla Soufflé 1

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: None yet.

Warnings: AU, fluff, humour, OOC-ness

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to lay claim to Cloud, I'm kinda scared of Leon's gunblade. So well, I don't own Kingdom Hearts and its character, and neither do I own the various Final Fantasies and their characters.

Note: This is a series of spin-off drabbles and ficlets meant to explain some events in my other fic _Vanilla_. Also talks about the minor characters in _Vanilla_.

Summary: It was just an accidental meeting, but little did Cloud imagine this would set off a chain of events and emotions that would eventually snag him a boyfriend. Cloud and Leon's first conversation in the corridors of Radiant High. Set before _Vanilla_.

* * *

It was crazy.

It was absolutely ridiculous.

How anyone could be so popular as to be mobbed wherever he went was frigging impossible. It defied all logic. But apparently, as Cloud was quickly learning as he saw another mob of girls (with a few boys mixed in) running towards the huge swooning crowd already gathered down the other corridor, logic tended to flee one's head when one was completely head over heels for another.

Sighing, Cloud turned and walked away in the other direction. Those people were blocking his way to the library, damn it! And he had no interest in being squashed against the wall in the crowd, or worse, get mistaken as a fellow worshipper hurrying along the corridor to see their god. He shuddered at that thought of being branded a mindless, swooning idiot.

And it was all that person's fault too!

Squall Leonhart. Genius and sports extraordinaire. Not to mention immensely attractive, as his worshippers had chanted over and over again.

Personally, Cloud couldn't see what was so great about the guy. Apart from his good grades and slick moves in sports, Squall Leonhart didn't seem all that different. Or special. He was just another guy their age. And it wasn't like Cloud was just saying that because he was jealous. Of course not, despite what Yuffie was telling him. He was in the same class as Squall Leonhart for god's sake; he knew what he was like in person. Unlike a good number of people in school, Cloud did have a chance of actually seeing him face to face instead of just hearing about the guy. For people not in their class, however, they actually had the possibility of never seeing Leon personally because his fans mobbed him wherever he went. Basically, they crowded out the corridors.

Inconsiderate bunch of people.

Cloud tried to tune them out and walked up the flight of steps, fully intent on staying in the library where there was peace and solitude. Even Yuffie didn't step foot inside the library much, so there would be hardly a soul bothering him. His mood got considerably better at the idea of spending an afternoon curled up by the couch and digging into a good read.

Excited, he hastened his steps and rounded a corner. He yelped when his face met with someone's chest, and he staggered backwards in a futile attempt to regain his balance. He was saved from befriending the ground in a nasty fall when someone righted him with a forceful tug on his wrists. Cloud sighed in relief.

"Are you alright?"

Cloud blinked. He knew that voice! And that voice belonged to someone who should be downstairs getting mobbed and molested by his fans!

"You… Aren't you downstairs? Your fans, they…"

Leon cracked a faint smile, one that Cloud knew had, on occasions, sent the girls screaming for joy and bouncing like bunnies on drugs. It was not particularly radiant, nor was it very attractive; in fact, it looked more like a smirk than a genuine smile, something that spoke volumes about the other man's arrogance and superiority. But somehow, Leon made that faint smirk look charismatic, and Cloud knew that Leon was one of the few people who could carry that sort of haughty arrogance off with an air of normalcy, making it seem not so arrogant after all.

"Decoy," Leon said simply, if not a little smugly.

And so Cloud got yet another piece of evidence that Leon's fans were a bunch of bumbling idiots, if they couldn't tell an imposter from the real guy. It was so sad he almost wanted to pity them. Almost.

He nodded nonchalantly instead. Well, as nonchalant as he could manage, that was. After all, it was difficult not to be affected in Leon's presence at all. As it was, Cloud was already feeling a little small, and he definitely didn't want to get caught by the other's fans talking to their idol. In severe cases, that could mean a broken limb or two, and in less severe cases (there was nothing that was /not/ severe as long as it concerned Leon, in those people's eyes), it probably meant talking down to him. Cloud had no interest in being treated worse than he already was in school. And it would be even more idiotic if he got snubbed for talking to someone who barely knew of his existence.

"Thanks… thanks for helping me. I should be going now."

Leon nodded and graciously stepped out of his way.

That was when they both heard a string of screams and curses somewhere below them, and then there was a stampede of footsteps and angry hollers, all directed towards the poor sod who had deceived them. There were no other explanations: Leon's decoy had been discovered.

Cloud knew he should ignore what was going on and just slink quietly to the library. Whatever was happening didn't concern him in the least. There was no point getting himself into what could potentially be a very troublesome matter. But apparently, his mouth acted way faster than his legs, for before he knew it, the words had already stumbled out of his lips.

"You could erm, hide in the library?"

When Leon fixed him with a surprised look, Cloud felt more than a little silly. Why would the most popular guy in school take his suggestion seriously? He was so insignificant compared to the brown-haired teenager. Still, Yuffie had always told him to finish his sentences even if he was embarrassed because otherwise, it would be even more embarrassing. Well, usually. So Cloud forced himself to continue.

"Erm, not a lot of people go to the reference section on the third level of the library. You might want to… stay there for a while to avoid your, you know… fans?"

He was fully expecting Leon to smirk that arrogant smirk again, telling him that the library was only reserved for nerds like Cloud, or something along those lines. God knew how many times he had heard that from the snobs. He was definitely not expecting Leon to smile –a genuine smile had never looked more sincere- while carelessly running a hand through his hair.

"Thanks."

Cloud felt compelled to return that smile.

"…No problem."

Leon seemed to jump a little at his reply. He probably didn't think Cloud would, given his tendency to act meeker than a mouse in class. And then, when Cloud cocked his head to stare at him curiously, the other's smile widened slightly as though heartened by the turn of events, a bit of red dusting his cheeks. Before Cloud could try and understand that, however, Leon was already giving him a curt wave and running off towards the library's main entrance.

It was just in time too. A few moments after Leon had disappeared into the library, a few of his fans darted up the stairs, completely bypassing Cloud and heading for the next corridor.

Staring at the library for a moment more, Cloud sighed. He turned and walked away. Was there no quiet corner in the school anymore?

* * *

A few days later, the mobbing and blatant swooning all stopped suddenly. Apparently, Leon had gotten so irritated by his horde of fans that he simply just snapped suddenly, growling threats here and there that had more or less deterred them from worshipping him that blatantly. There were still a few moony-eyed looks and silly giggles when his fans saw him, but that was usually it.

What was truly gossip-worthy nowadays wasn't how hot Leon was, but rather, what exactly had made him that mad on that fateful day his fanclubs had to go covert. It was indeed rather strange, because Leon seemed to have always tolerated his fans, though he didn't really like them.

Some said that Leon's tolerance only went that far.

And some said Leon had gotten a warning from the fire department about his fans obstructing all the fire escapes.

Then there were those who believed that Leon's secret lover had gotten insanely jealous, and Leon wanted to appease him.

Cloud wasn't exactly sure what had happened, and he seriously didn't care. Just so as long as the traffic-stopping mobbing was no more, and he didn't have to walk the extra five-minutes to the library to return his books.

One thing he had to get used to, however, was how he seemed to be seeing Leon walking about in the corridors a lot more frequently…

-tbc-

* * *

**Teaser for next part**: Leon thought his secret was very, very well-kept. So how did all his friends find out about it?

**A/N: **Like I mentioned before, _Vanilla Soufflé_ is a series of drabbles and ficlets meant to explain backstories and some events that were not fully explained in the main fic _Vanilla_. So reviewers are welcomed to drop me a good review (read: constructive) with their ideas and if it inspires me, I'll probably write it.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Vanilla Soufflé 2

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: L/C

Warnings: AU, romance, sap, fluff, OOC-ness

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to lay claim to Cloud, I'm kinda scared of Leon's gunblade. So well, I don't own Kingdom Hearts and its character, and neither do I own the various Final Fantasies and their characters.

Note: This is a series of spin-off drabbles and ficlets meant to explain some events in my other fic _Vanilla_. Also talks about the minor characters in _Vanilla_. Done on request by Hanae da Firefly! Dedicated to you, dearie!

Summary: Leon thought his secret was very, very well-kept. So how did all his friends find out about it?

* * *

He had no idea when it started.

He had even lesser idea why it started.

But Leon couldn't deny that he kept catching himself shooting surreptitious glances at the quiet blond whenever he could.

The way the blond would stare out of the window, his eyes soulful and expression gentle… The way he would frown sometimes as he tried to understand the teachers' ramblings, his nose a little scrunched up together… The way he would pout when his best friend suggested something outrageous, his cherry lips cuter than usual.

It seemed only natural that Leon's eyes always found themselves turning to Cloud's direction, glued to the blond.

It seemed even more natural –not to mention inevitable- for Leon to find his mind stuffed full of thoughts about Cloud.

At first, it was nothing too over the top. Just an image of Cloud smiling at him sweetly, or maybe a whisper of Cloud's voice drifting through his head and imprinted in his mind, or even the sound of Cloud's soft laughter. It was as though the blond had taken up residence inside Leon's mind, even if the blond didn't know about that.

Leon was just one step away from doing the cheesiest thing and filling the margins of his notebook with Cloud's name surrounded by little hearts. Or, heaven forbid, write Cloud Leonhart-Strife.

And then, he had seen Cloud struggling and laughing while trying to get away from Yuffie's tickling attack. She had pinned him to the ground, tickling him crazy for being too quiet one day. When she had finally stopped, Cloud remained slumped supinely on the ground, his chest heaving as he panted heavily, cheeks flushed and rosy, his lips slightly open, and his uniform rumpled beyond belief. Those long lashes were still whispering against his cheeks, soft and enticing. And when those lashes finally lifted to grace Leon a glance of those precious blues underneath, Leon's heart had skipped a beat.

Why had he never realized how blue Cloud's eyes were? They sparkled brilliantly even under the harsh fluorescent lights; it made Leon wonder how stunning they would look under the moonlight, when their gaze was directed at him and him only. It made him shudder to even think of that. Eyes were the windows to one's soul, he'd heard. And if Cloud's eyes were already so beautiful, Leon couldn't imagine how beautiful his soul would be.

And as Cloud's lips remained parted, softly moaning as the stitch in his sides left him, Leon had felt his own breath being stolen. Both of them breathless, though for very different reasons.

In the few minutes that Cloud had remained lying on the ground, Leon could not move or tear his gaze away. Not that he even wanted to try.

That very night, Cloud looked very… different and sounded very… different in Leon's dreams. Cute didn't even begin to describe it. Arousing didn't do it justice. Sensual wasn't the right word.

Cloud just looked so… Cloud.

From that night forth, Leon found himself staring at Cloud even more.

His thoughts got less… innocent too. More than once, Leon had tried to imagine how soft Cloud's lips would feel under his own, or how nicely Cloud's hand would fit in his own, or how silky Cloud's hair would feel between his fingers. And once -just once!- he had daydreamed about Cloud lying under himself, looking at him wildly, incredulously, and yet, enticingly. Too bad that daydream was interrupted by the untimely dismissal bell; Leon really wanted to take up Cloud's offer. The blond looked like he was begging to be ravished.

But Leon did not act on any of his daydreams. He couldn't. Cloud was like a beautiful free bird; once startled, he would just take off and never return.

Leon didn't want Cloud to leave him.

And so Leon never told any of his friends about his little crush, because he was well aware of the likely consequences. Riku would forge a sappy love letter and toss it into Cloud's locker under his name. Tidus would chase off the poor guy sitting next to Cloud and demand that Leon move there. Selphie the little broadcaster would, in her sugar high, tell the whole wide world about his crush and tell everybody in person again just in case they had missed her announcement. Aeris would only giggle, being the kindest and most understanding of the bunch. Then again, the last time Tidus had a crush on Selphie, she had giggled innocently before them and then ran off to tell Selphie behind everyone's backs.

Therefore, it was only understandable that Leon kept it a secret from all of them.

But one thing Leon did not take into account was his tendency to keep staring at Cloud.

And his friends, being around him most of the time, were bound to notice just who he was staring at one way or another.

* * *

Cloud had smiled again that day, when Yuffie had bounced over from the next class to pull him away for lunch. His blue eyes positively sparkled when the girl mentioned her favourite pudding and how she was going to make him like it too.

Leon would have been jealous if he didn't know Yuffie and Cloud were just best friends.

Sitting under his favourite tree while eating lunch with his bunch of friends, Leon was about to let his mind wander off to his daydreams when his ears perked up at the sound of someone's name.

"You know, I was just thinking of asking Cloud out."

Leon blinked. Did Riku just say what he thought he'd said?

Tidus did a double-take. "Are you serious?"

"Why not? Cloud is rather cute." Riku grinned casually. "Now, any suggestions for where I can bring him to? Maybe that new ice cream parlor nearby? I've heard their sundaes kick ass."

"Not to mention they have cute servers," Aeris giggled. When everyone turned to her in disbelief, she flushed and quickly held up her hands. "I didn't go there to check them out! Honest! I just overheard some girls talking about this two cute twins working there."

"Yeah, sure."

"Don't worry, Tidy-Widy! No matter how cute those twins are, I'll still always love you!" Selphie exclaimed and quickly jumped into her boyfriend's open arms, who upon catching her, declared his sappy love for her too. Drama queens, both of them.

"Ah, it feels so good to have a girlfriend," Tidus sighed dreamily before turning back to the silver-haired teen. "So Riku, you're finally ready to settle down with someone too? It is a good thing. But why Cloud?"

Riku shot them a mysterious smirk. "Because Cloud, my dear friend, is a hidden gem. I'm surprised no one has asked him out yet. Have you even noticed how blue his eyes are? They're so blue I swear it makes the sky jealous and the sea envious!"

Leon had to bite his bottom lip to stop himself from retorting that Cloud's eyes did not make the sky jealous or the sea envious. Cloud's blue eyes did not evoke jealousy and envy; they stirred up protectiveness and tenderness.

"And have you seen him when he smiles? He looks so utterly cute with a smile."

Cloud did not just look cute with a smile. Cloud looked gorgeous, dazzling, stunning /and/ beautiful when he smiled.

"Besides, Cloud is absolutely adorable when he laughs."

That wasn't accurate either. Cloud looked absolutely adorable whether he was laughing or not. Cloud looked adorable /just/ being himself.

"So guys? Any suggestions on where to bring him to?"

"Well…" Aeris trailed off, contemplative. Selphie looked like she had a vague idea.

"Nowhere."

Leon was surprised when everyone turned to him and stared. That was when he realized that he had been the one to put forth that last suggestion.

Riku narrowed his eyes. "Why nowhere?"

"Be… because you and Cloud won't go well together. He's not your type."

"I could have a try… I mean, it's not like I'm talking marriage with him," Riku replied, shrugging. Tidus and Selphie nodded vigorously, encouraging him.

It only irked Leon more.

"Don't date Cloud if all you're looking for is a fling. He deserves more than that," he growled, low and threatening.

"Because you like him?"

Riku's sudden question threw Leon completely off teeter. He blushed hotly, unable to keep his composure and wits together. Stammering, he quickly averted his gaze lest he gave more of his secret away.

"If you like him, I can give up. You know I'm not the type to fight with my buddies," Riku said seriously. When Leon did not answer, he wagged his eyebrows. "So… do you?"

"Do… do I what?" Playing dumb was the easier and best tactic to employ sometimes.

"Like Cloud? I won't fight with you if you like him, you know."

If Leon had been paying attention to his friends' anxious and anticipating looks, he would have noticed how strange they were all behaving. If Leon had even looked up for one second, he would have seen the tug on Selphie's lips, like she was trying very hard to suppress her giggles.

But Leon was too embarrassed to look up. So he bought Riku's story, hook, line and sinker. If admitting /it/ to Riku would prevent a potential conflict between the two of them, there was no reason why he shouldn't, right?

"…yea… yeah."

Tidus had to slap a hand over Selphie's mouth to stop her giggles from spilling out.

"You said something?" Riku asked.

_Just say it!_ Leon steeled himself and lifted his head, meeting his best friend's eyes, glare for glare. Despite the bright scarlet colouring his face, Leon still managed to look rather threatening.

"I said: I like Cloud. So don't you dare try asking him out."

Selphie screamed in delight, hoping off Tidus' lap to dance around the area. That was the first sign that something was completely wrong.

His second clue came from Riku's reaction, which was very far from what Leon had expected. He had expected the silver-haired teen to slump in disappointment, or even to pout and try to talk Leon out of liking Cloud, but Riku did none of those. Instead, Riku punched the air triumphantly before turning to Tidus.

"See? I told you! You owe me fifty bucks now! Ha!"

Tidus' reaction was pretty much unexpected too. He pouted. "Damn it… I didn't think Leon would say it out loud so easily… Argh! Leon! You made me lose fifty dollars! I could have taken Selphie to that new ice cream parlor with that money!"

"But it's fifty dollars well lost, if we made Leon admit his crush out loud!" Aeris chuckled.

"Wait." Everyone turned to look at him. "Did you guys… bet on me?"

"You bet we did." Riku sniggered, letting his body fall to the ground and stretching out like a cat. That was a pretty good analogy too, because the silver-haired teen looked like a cat that had polished the cream /and/ eaten the canary. In fact, if he opened his mouth right now, feathers would probably come flying out in droves.

"Riku bet Tidus that he could make you admit your crush on Cloud out loud," Aeris supplied helpfully.

Leon felt his heart still. His secret! His well-kept secret! "You guys knew?"

"It's kinda hard not to, when all you do everyday is stare at Cloud," Tidus snickered.

"Not to mention gaze longingly and hope he'll turn and look at you like you're his Romeo and he's your Juliet. Ah, young love." Riku wiped an imaginary tear away, earning himself another round of laughter from the group.

"Oh, don't worry Leon. We won't tell a soul." Aeris winked at him before launching into a heated discussion with the others about how to get Cloud to like Leon too.

Leon just felt a headache coming, and if pounding his head against the tree wouldn't worsen his headache, he would have done so.

-tbc-

**Teaser for next chapter: **There is a reason why you should never let Yuffie find out about your secrets, and Leon is learning this the hard way. No, scratch that. The /very/ hard way.

**A/N: **I noticed that many of you have been dropping ideas for future chapters of Vanilla Souffle in the reviews, so please keep that up! The problem is: either a few of you are giving me the same ideas or I already have something similar planned! XD So I'm gonna give a list of tentative future chapters here, just in case you wanna see it. Credit for ideas is given to the first person who gives it to me.

1. Yuffie finds out about Leon's crush. Leon POV. Next chapter.  
2. Leon's POV at Yuffie's funeral.  
3. The first time Riku and the gang steps into the ice-cream parlor, thus starting Riku's flirting with Sora (Idea provided by Zenelly). Probably Riku POV.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Vanilla Soufflé 3

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: L/C

Warnings: AU, romance, fluff, humour

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to lay claim to Cloud, I'm kinda scared of Leon's gunblade. So well, I don't own Kingdom Hearts and its character, and neither do I own the various Final Fantasies and their characters.

Note: This is a series of spin-off drabbles and ficlets meant to explain some events in my other fic _Vanilla_. Also talks about the minor characters in _Vanilla_. Thanx to Hanae da Firefly for helping to come up with ideas for this chapter!

Summary: There is a reason why you should never let Yuffie find out about your secrets, and Leon is learning this the hard way. No, scratch that. The /very/ hard way.

* * *

Leon was never one to lie. It simply wasn't in his nature.

So when Yuffie had bounced up to him after kendo practice and offhandedly mentioned about how he was always staring at her best friend, Leon did not deny it. He had blushed like crazy and all his internal alarms had screamed in fear, but he didn't refute what he knew was the truth. He really was /always/ staring at Cloud.

And then she had gotten the widest grin on her face, one that made Leon question his position on not lying, because he had a really bad feeling about what she was going to say. His fears were proven right when she poked him in the arm and gleefully asked, "You like Cloudster, don't you?"

Damn. Was it that obvious? Was it so obvious that he liked Cloud? Sure, he was always staring at Cloud, but that didn't necessarily mean he liked Cloud! He stared at the blond because he was cute, he was shy, he was /beautiful, but that didn't always mean that he had a crush on the blond! No, of course not.

But he /did/ like Cloud, and the worst thing was that Yuffie knew.

Leon had scowled and turned away, unwilling to let the girl know even more about his not-so-secret crush. Even so, he knew that Riku, who was standing just beside him then, would provide Yuffie with all the juicy details. At the very least, he would confirm her suspicions. Simply by giving her a thumbs-up or a knowing grin, Yuffie would get the message: Squall Leonhart had the world's greatest crush on Cloud Strife.

That was yesterday.

And now Leon was dreading the school day ahead. Given Yuffie's past history on spreading rumours (even though they were all later proven true, like the one where she said that Mr. Highwind was actually married, to which the entire student body had gasped and then started to speculate which woman was crazy enough to marry the grumpy windbag) and tendency to blow things severely out of proportion, there was little doubt that everyone in the damn school knew about his crush on Cloud by now.

No, maybe they'd all known about it last night, if Yuffie had gotten crazy enough to drive around the neighbourhood with a loud-speaker and announce the piece of juicy news to everyone within hearing range.

The worst-case scenario was if she had ran up to Cloud and told him all about it, thereby scaring him off before Leon even had a chance to confess properly. Or even a chance to come up with a contingency plan in the event Cloud actually returned his feelings but was just too shy to confess earlier. Sure, the possibility of that happening seemed so small it was probably next to non-existent, but the possibility was still present. And Leon didn't want to have to start romancing Cloud without any prior plans and ideas on how to actually do it!

Simply put, Squall Leonhart was deader than the frozen pork chops sold in supermarkets.

* * *

It was really bizarre.

Just moments ago, Leon had been so deep in his worry that he had actually walked into Cloud and Yuffie, but nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The blond had merely apologized meekly – even if Leon had been the one to walk into him - before wandering into their classroom without another word. Normal behavior for him, Leon thought. And then Yuffie had shot him a smug, knowing smirk and quickly ducked into the next corridor where her classroom was located.

Something wasn't quite right with that image.

Warily, Leon entered his classroom, half-expecting something – anything! - to happen. Maybe the girls would scream and wail at the news of his crush and therefore unavailability. Or maybe somebody would shoot him dirty looks for causing all that ruckus. Or maybe the school newspaper's reporters were already hiding in the room, planning their ambush and ready to pounce on him the moment he stepped inside.

Nothing happened.

Apart from a few dreamy looks and sighs, his classmates were either half-asleep or embroiled in the latest rumour regarding a catfight between two girls from the class next door. And Cloud was still alone at his table, looking through his notes and sorting through them.

So Yuffie hadn't said a squeak about his secret to anybody?

…Unbelievable.

* * *

"Squally-Wally!"

Leon rubbed his temples, which were throbbing in pain at the sound of that accursed nickname Yuffie had given him, ever since she decided it was endearing to mutilate his name. And just three days ago, he could still snap at her and correct his name. But now that she knew his secret, Leon wasn't sure if it would be a wise move to contradict the girl.

It was pure blackmailing/pure/ blackmailing, even if Yuffie hadn't uttered a threat. Yet.

"What?"

She was still smiling angelically, a term that never meant anything good when linked to the spunky bundle of mischief. Leon's instincts for self-protection were kicked up to the max when she started to act cute, pouting and leaning forward on tiptoes.

"I have this friend… you know, really cute and pretty. Golden hair, more striking than sunshine! Eyes bluer than any sky! Deeper than any ocean! Prettier than the sweetest angel and really, really, really shy. And I think he liiiiiiikes you...!" she finished in a singsong, seemingly chirpier than a happy lark and more excited than a bear that had found a mountain of honey.

Leon felt his breath catch in his throat, his heart skipping a beat before starting to pound horribly against his ribcage. It was almost painful, but it was a pain Leon wouldn't mind wallowing in forever if it meant Cloud returned his feelings! He felt a smile tugging on his lips, and he happily gave in, the exact moment a blush started to surface, dusting the entire expanse of his handsome face.

If he were a little more cliché or mushy, he would have imagined a record starting to play the sweetest, most romantic tune in the world.

"Re-really?" There was a tinge of excitement and elation in his voice that Leon didn't even bother to suppress.

Yuffie nodded vigorously.

"Can… Can I see him?"

"Of course! He's hiding behind that wall over there, waiting for you!"

Leon could just see it: a blushing and cute-as-hell Cloud peeking out from behind the wall, blinking for a few moments before walking towards him. Leon already had his mind made up: he would grab Cloud into his arms and confess his feelings, just the way he should have before Yuffie egged Cloud on to take the initiative!

Before Leon could yell Cloud's name and ask him to come out, Yuffie had beaten him to the punch. Only that the name she yelled wasn't quite what he was expecting.

"Come on out now, Zell!"

The music promptly screeched to a halt.

What the f-?

A boy stepped out from behind the wall, and true to Yuffie's claims, he had golden hair more striking than sunshine, eyes bluer than any sky and deeper than any ocean. But it wasn't Cloud! It was that kid with the huge-ass tattoo on his face, the very same one Leon had been running away from since the first day of school because said blond was president of his personal fan club!

He quickly hightailed it out of there.

* * *

"Squally stud-muffin!"

Leon gritted his teeth. He was in the library, damn it! How in the world did she manage to find him in this obscure place? Was she stalking him just to bully and tease him with all those information on Cloud? That thought infuriated him, and he raised his head to glare at the girl bouncing his way. How dare she bounce so gleefully when Leon was getting a headache from doing his assignments /and/ thinking of ways to confess to Cloud before she could spill his secret!

Before he could snap at her, she shoved a notebook under his nose.

"See? I got stuck with this question in geography, and Cloud is waiting for me to teach him! So how exactly do you answer this question?"

Leon spent the next ten minutes explaining the question in detail to Yuffie. It was only after she left that Leon suddenly realized that because Yuffie wasn't in their class and so didn't have the same teacher for geography, which meant that Cloud and him /didn't/ have the assignment Yuffie had.

* * *

"Squally sugar-pie!"

If she called him that one more time (over the course of one week, he'd heard at least ten variations of his name already), Leon was going have to start thinking of a place to stash her body. As it was, people were already getting the wrong idea. It was only when Leon had pointedly told everyone that he'd rather eat a bullet than date Yuffie that the rumours died down. But now, everyone believed that Yuffie had just picked Leon as her latest target for Operation Annoy and Bully.

"I have this really important thing coming up at home, so I won't be free this whole night! And my algebra assignment is due tomorrow! Help me finish my homework, pleeeeeeeease?"

Fat chance, Leon snorted. He had three assignments due tomorrow, two of which were ten-page papers for his literature class and geography class, and then he still had to update the school webpage because he was on the committee, and all those were on top on his chores at home! Besides, Leon wasn't going to help Yuffie with her homework even if he was free as hell!

He was going to have fun watching her face fall in disappointment. After torturing him for days, it was time Yuffie didn't get her way for once.

"No."

As he had expected, she sighed deeply and turned to walk away.

"That's too bad… To think I had this really nice photo of Cloud in his swimming trunks from last summer. Oh well…"

Leon's ears perked up, much like how a puppy would suddenly stand at attention at the sound of the dinner bell. A blush crept up his face as he imagined Cloud in nothing but a pair of swimming trunks. And water. Lots of water. Wet Cloud was nice… Very, very nice. Yum. And maybe after a day of swimming, his skin would be tanned and his cheeks a little flushed from the exercise… Yummy.

"Two."

Yuffie spun around, blinking. "Did you say something, Squally?"

"Two photos," Leon said with a poker face, despite the fact that his inner-self was punching the air in jubilation.

Her eyes widened for a moment before she caught herself, and she grinned again, wider than before.

"Algebra /and/ physics, and I'll give you three photos. All in swimming trunks and nothing else."

He didn't even have to think about it.

"Deal."

And so, that night, Leon's family wondered if they should give his teachers a call and ask them why Leon was saddled with so much work. The second night, they started to wonder if Leon was too stressed, because he kept yelling, "That bitch gave me three copies of the /same/ photograph!"

* * *

"Riku! Riku!"

Leon raised an eyebrow; just when he had almost gotten used to Yuffie's incessant harassment, she was switching targets? He gave Riku a curious gaze, and the silver-haired boy shrugged before putting down his sword and letting it lean against the bench. At least Yuffie had the sense to harass them during their break, or Coach Auron would have all their hides.

"What is it, Yuff?"

The girl snickered slyly, plopping herself down onto the bench beside Riku without an invitation. Leon could feel his eyebrows twitching.

"You know, I was having this really sweet conversation with Cloud," – Leon's ears perked up, and he tried to pretend he wasn't listening when in fact he was leaning towards Riku and Yuffie – "last night. We were sorta talking about the hottest guy in school, 'cause you know, the last issue of the school newspapers had this vote, and Leon came in first place…"

Riku's eyes lit up, suddenly understanding where this conversation was going. "And…?"

"And!" Yuffie's grin widened. "When I asked Cloud who he thought was the hottest guy in school, he said…!" she squealed.

"Who?" Riku asked, sharing the girl's sly grin. They both ignored how Leon was almost already falling onto Riku as he perched on the bench eagerly, reminding them of a hungry puppy who was sitting by the front door and yipping for his master to come home and feed him already.

"You! Cloud said that you're the hottest, Riku! I think he likes silver hair!"

Leon fell off the bench. Riku's jaw fell in horror. Yuffie retained her angelic halo and charming smile.

Later, when everyone was wondering what had gotten Leon so mad that he was almost trying to kill Riku, his sparring partner their coach had designated because the two were best friends and worked best with one another (well, usually), and when Riku was wearing a look of utter horror and guilt that was discernable even under his helmet, Yuffie's sparring partner wasn't sure if she wanted to know why Yuffie was wearing an extremely smug grin.

* * *

"Squally muffin-pie!"

Leon clenched his fist, and he had to forcibly stop himself from turning around and punch the pest. No, a mere punch was too easy. Yuffie deserved a punch, a kick and a good shake until all those blackmail ideas were shaken out of her head. It was a mistake to let Yuffie know about his crush. A huge mistake. Leon was starting to believe that perhaps he should just walk up to Cloud and confess right away just so the blackmailing would stop.

"What?" he barked.

"Aw, don't look at me like that!" Yuffie whined in protest, holding up her hands. "Not when I'm here to tell you something really important!"

He gave her a pointed look.

"I'm serious!" She pouted, miffed. And then she started to grin, her mood shifting faster than the weather. "Anyway, I managed to drag Cloudster to the cooking club today, 'cause I was really hungry and the class had like a couple of vacancies since some girls skipped so there were some spare ingredients… So we're like, baking cookies today, and since Cloud is such a great cook, his cookies smell /really/ good."

"And…?" Leon was half-tempted to march right up to the home economics room and ask Cloud for his cookies. He vaguely wondered how they would taste like. Surely, they'd taste really wonderful, because Cloud looked like the type who couldn't burn down the kitchen even if he tried.

But… knowing Yuffie, there had to be a catch somewhere. Not to mention Cloud would just blink in confusion at him if he really did ask for those cookies.

Yuffie started to play with her apron. "So… the cookies are really nice. And you know what they say about the cooking club. It's just another name for boy-hunting club! Because you know… the home econs room is like, on the first floor, facing the soccer field, the tennis courts, the blitzball stadiums and all that stuff, and the boys just sort of wander to the windows and ask for food during their breaks…"

This so /didn't/ sound good to Leon's ears. Already, he was imagining boys crowding up to Cloud and asking him for his fabulous cookies.

"And then there's this really good-looking boy from the blitzball team who's been sidling up to Cloudster for the past one hour or so… he comes up to the window every time he's on break, whining for a bit of food. I think Cloud's about to give in already, if just because he's tired of all the whining. Oh! You might want to walk outside the building and get to the home econs room from the window! God knows the girls will jump you if you enter through the door!" Yuffie hollered helpfully, snickering as she watched Leon round a corner hastily.

For once, Leon heeded Yuffie's advice, approaching the home econs room not from the door but from the windows. After all, the cooking club was famous for the sheer number of girls, and Leon still wanted to be able to actually /get to/ Cloud, not get mobbed by his fans. Besides, the windows were where that disgusting blitzball leech was.

Leech.

By the time Leon reached the windows, he had already come up with at least seven different ways of chasing away that leech, of which all included some broken limbs, mild concussions and a little blood. And when he had to round one more corner to get there, he heard a disgusting voice whining – Yuffie actually didn't kid him – to Cloud for some cookies. Leon sped up, ready to drag the leech to somewhere more secluded and ahem, introduce him to the wonders of black-eyes and bruises.

That is, until he realized that the leech was actually someone he knew and had definitely never expected.

"Tidus?"

The blond's eyes lit up when he noticed his friend coming, and he quickly gestured to Leon to get over faster. "Hey buddy! Come over, quick! There's free food here!"

Figures. What did Riku said Tidus was? Oh yes. A kid whose appetite had hit puberty twice over even though his height had definitely not.

Leon sighed and wandered over. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried to get away, Yuffie always got him good. Then he peered into the window, and suddenly realized that if he got to see Cloud in an apron all the time, he really wouldn't mind getting had again. Cloud wasn't just cute in an apron; he was cuteness, delicacy, and beauty all rolled into one. Leon silently swore to himself that if he ever managed to date Cloud, he would buy the blond an apron that read 'Kiss the Cook'.

Cloud was at his table, coincidentally the one just beside the row of windows, rolling a bit of dough into a ball and then flattening it. He repeated that action several times. Even though everyone in the room was pretty much doing the same thing, wearing the same white aprons and head scarves, Leon thought only Cloud made cooking seem like fun. The other girls in the club either didn't know what they were doing or were pulling out trays of burnt cookies – burnt was pretty mild, in fact, since some of those things actually looked like charcoal… And apparently, the club's teacher felt the same way, patting Cloud's shoulder on a job well done and admonishing the girl beside him for confusing sugar and salt before leaving the room.

"Hey Cloud! I've got a friend with me here! Can we have more cookies? We've both really hungry!" Tidus suddenly yelled into the room, surprising Cloud, who upon noticing Leon's presence, blinked a few more times. Leon nodded meekly.

"Erm, you'll sorta have to wait a bit longer in that case. I don't think I have enough for both of you…" Cloud started, gesturing to the oven where an aroma was wafting lazily through the air and assaulting Leon's nose. Inwardly, Leon was thankful that Cloud really was an excellent cook; god knows his tongue had gotten enough abuse from his father's so-called cooking.

Tidus nodded vigorously, more than happy to wait as long as he got something to eat. Cloud returned the smile timidly and went back to his work.

It was then Leon realized that this was the opportunity he'd been waiting for. If he managed to find an interesting topic, maybe he could actually strike up a conversation with Cloud that lasted over a minute! And since Cloud was baking something, it meant that he wouldn't be able to run away even if Leon scared him or something. Yes! Maybe this was why Yuffie had made him come here in the first place!

"Hey Cloud…" he started, but before the blond could even turn to him, some girls were already screaming in joy and excitement.

"Oh my gosh! It's Leon!"

"What? Leon is here?"

"Oh Leon! Please have my cookies!"

"Mine too!"

"And mine!"

Tidus whistled, impressed and envious at the sheer amount of cookies the girls were offering. Beside him, Leon resisted the urge to just walk away from the bunch of swooning idiots. Didn't they get the memo that Leon was gay? Not gay as in happy happy gay gay, but gay as in as straight as a circle type of gay! So why were they still trying so hard? Unless they got a sex-change operation, they stood a better chance of winning the million-dollar lottery than dating him.

No, maybe even after they got a sex-change operation, their chances of dating him were still lower than winning the lottery.

Then, out of the corner of his eyes, Leon noticed Cloud getting pushed back by the gaggle of girls, still yapping and cackling and shoving their bundles of cookies out of the window towards him. As the girls continued to lean out of the windows, they were completely unaware of how they were driving Cloud out, and their love-struck eyes blinded them to how Leon got more and more irritated with every passing whine and offer.

Finally, when Cloud yelped at a particularly hard shove, Leon decided he had had enough.

"Stop the incessant yapping! I don't even like cookies!"

Silence. Stillness. Shock.

"Well, you heard the man! Just give him a break, why don't you? Go back to your tables! Shoo! Shoo!" Yuffie's voice rang out across the room, somehow cutting into the crowd and pushing the sniveling girls back. The girls sniffled a little, some wailing out to Leon that they would learn how to bake apple pies since he didn't like cookies while others were deciding which boys to give their cookies to, but they were soon dispersed and back at their own tables. They were probably a little fearful of Leon's temper. After all, his temper was the reason why his fan clubs had to go covert.

Yuffie turned back to Leon, with her arms akimbo and a frustrated yet fond grin gracing her face. When had Yuffie returned to the home econs room? Leon definitely hadn't noticed.

She casually leaned out of the window, waving off Cloud's light admonishments about her safety. Cloud frowned, but went back to his work anyway. When she was sure Cloud wasn't listening in, she whispered, "You know, after all the stuff I put you through the last few days, I thought I would direct to you a chance to get Cloud's cooking inside your mouth. Too bad you ruined it yourself. Cloud's baking cookies, and he's not gonna offer you any since you don't /like/ cookies. How sad." She chortled.

Leon wanted to retort and snap back at her, but he found that he didn't know what to say. And the worst thing? Even though it was true he didn't like cookies, he really wanted to eat the ones Cloud baked. Those cookies weren't just baked dough. They were the fruits of Cloud's effort.

Tidus stepped up to him, giving his shoulder a sympathetic pat. "Hey man, I'll share mine with you. Not to worry. You'll still have some."

The brunet sighed. But he wanted to eat what Cloud gave him, not what he gave others. Still, he nodded. Well, better something than nothing. As long as Cloud had made it.

Suddenly, Cloud walked up to the window, beside Yuffie. He was holding out a small bag.

"Will this be enough? The cookies, I mean."

Tidus spared Leon a sideward glance, but he nodded anyway. "Yeah, it'll be enough. Thanks Cloud!"

"No problem. I wouldn't be able to finish all these anyway," the blond replied with a shrug, gesturing to his work table where there was still a tray of unbaked dough waiting for a visit to the oven.

"But Cloudster! You could have given them to me!" Yuffie teased, earning herself a poke in the tummy from her friend. Laughing, she peered down at Cloud's hand, which was holding another packet. "Oh, what's that in your hands? Another packet of cookies meant for meanie Leon? He doesn't eat cookies though, right, stud-muffin?" She ignored the dark look Leon sent her way.

"It's alright. I'll just get something from the vending machines," Leon mumbled. "Thanks anyway."

He was surprised when Cloud thrust a packet towards him.

"Do you eat butter cakes?"

Leon blinked, unable to comprehend what exactly was going on all of a sudden. When he noticed the packet in Cloud's hands and the uncertainty in those beautiful blue eyes, realization finally dawned on him, and he couldn't help but smile as he nodded vigorously.

"Yes!"

"Well, take this then. Umm, I tried to give you a large slice, since Tidus said you're both hungry and all…" Cloud said softly, nodding sharply to the other blond boy behind Leon. Tidus was strangely enough, wearing a large grin. "Is, is it large enough?"

"Large enough! Thank you!" Even Leon could hear his own excitement, barely veiled in his voice and actions. When he received the small packet, he held it close to himself, treating it like it was not a slice of butter cake but a diamond-studded ornament.

Cloud smiled softly.

"No problem." And he went back to his table.

"Looks like you still got what you wanted in the end," Yuffie commented offhandedly before running back to her table. Her smirk was evident in her voice.

Staring down at the slice of butter cake, Leon grinned. And as he walked away, carefully biting into the delicious treat and savouring every morsel, he thought that perhaps letting Yuffie know about his crush was one of the best things that could have happened.

* * *

"Hey Tidus."

"What?"

"Give me some of the cookies."

"What? But you already have the butter cake!"

"You said you'd share."

"But that was because we thought Cloud wasn't going to give you anything!"

"Doesn't change the fact you said you'd share. Hand some over."

"But I'm hungry, man!"

"Go get something from the vending machine. Those cookies are mine."

"You don't even like cookies." Whine.

"Not including those."

"…Jerk."

"Hand them over."

Sob. "Fine…"

-tbc-

**Teaser for next chapter:** Cloud would never forget the day he had first met Yuffie, when he was licking his wounds on his porch and she just came over like nothing had happened.

**A/N: **Good news: I'm starting to write _Vanilla _again. Bad news:progress is very slow. So I thought I'd post a new chapter for _Souffle _first to hopefully whet your appetite for what's to come in the series. XD

On another note, I've recently started a new fic series called _**The Pet Chronicles**_, which is a 7-part ficlet series for Leon and Cloud. Please read that one too for more LC goodness. XDD And please remember to tip the author if she's done a good job. Thanx!


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Vanilla Soufflé 4

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: Friendship Yuffie and Cloud.

Word count: 1029

Rating: G

Warnings: AU, slight angst?

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to lay claim to Cloud, I'm kinda scared of Leon's gunblade. So well, I don't own Kingdom Hearts and its character, and neither do I own the various Final Fantasies and their characters.

Note: This is a series of spin-off drabbles and ficlets meant to explain some events in my other fic _Vanilla_. Also talks about the minor characters in _Vanilla_. This piece basically wrote itself by the third paragraph.

Summary: Cloud would never forget the day he had first met Yuffie, when he was licking his wounds on his porch and she just came over like nothing had happened.

* * *

People usually remembered in multi-colours, their best memories filled with bright colours of varying shades, tones and hues. Even their most hated, most vile memories, were usually draped with some colours, but duller and drabber. But dull and drab as they were, the colours were still present.

For Cloud, one of his best memories had none of that. Everything was in black or white. The only bit of colours, if it could even be called that, was the various shades of grey that dotted and lined where the black and white wouldn't.

It was like he had gone severely colour-blind that day. Or perhaps, that memory had been the work of a mere babe, too impatient to colour the picture he had just drawn. The stolen colours were never returned. Not willingly, anyway.

They did, however, trickle back into the memory bit by bit, reluctantly. So many greens, and browns and blues and purples… the many patches of pain on his arms, his legs, his stomach, his face, left behind by those refused to understand him. So much red, dripping, oozing, flowing. Cloud still had the scars to prove it, still had all the scabs to prove that people hurt each other for no plausible reason at all.

No, perhaps that was the reason.

Sometimes, people just wanted to hurt one another without a reason, because /that/, as illogical as it may sound, was their reason.

Cloud understood that, and at the same time, did not understand why. But he let that slide.

What he truly, truly wanted to know, was why he couldn't seem to fight back. He always got hurt more whenever he tried. Those bullies would just laugh at him before teaching him a lesson for his defiance. And then there were more greens, more browns, more blues, more purples.

And it hurt.

It hurt so bad.

But in his mind's eyes, even the colours of his bruises and blood would disappear after a while, when he was sitting in the porch and wondering what to tell his parents. Just ten years of age and barely able to reach the knobs to open doors, Cloud had been a small child, wiry and looking younger than his actual age. For the longest while, he had thought his other name was 'runt', because that was all the bullies would call him by. And it seemed that moving into a new neighbourhood didn't mean that things would change.

He would just end up getting picked on by a new bunch of bullies.

Cloud remembered carefully licking away the blood on his forearm and rubbing at the huge bruise on his thigh at the porch. He had thought it was just another day, where after his daily dosage of bullying, he would just go home and lick his wounds. Too bad his parents had been out and Cloud had forgotten to bring the keys with him earlier.

And then, suddenly, there was the sound of a door slamming close by and a girl, probably somewhere his age, flew out of his neighbour's house and dashed straight towards him. Cloud had raised his head, not because he was curious of her intentions, but rather, he wanted to know how his bullies looked like before they even landed a blow on him. At least he would know who to get away from afterwards. That said, however, Cloud found that perhaps remembering the faces of those he did /not/ have to run away from was an easier task.

So when Cloud had raised his head, the girl's features fell upon his eyes. Strangely enough, even though they were as black as all the other blackness in his memories, the girl's hair and eyes had a shine to them. It was like they were black, but at the same time, not black. Cloud wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to explain that sentence to anyone else, but it made sense to himself.

It made more sense than why people hurt each other without reason.

"Hey, are you locked out?" she asked.

Cloud did not reply.

She held out her hand. "I'm Yuffie. I live next door. Dad says it's not good to leave a kid outside like this. So you wanna have some ice cream in my house? We have vanilla and chocolate, I think."

Cloud thought she was crazy. Children weren't supposed to invite other children into their homes, especially when the other children were strangers. And no parent had ever welcomed him into their homes, not when their eyes narrowed at his torn clothes, his bruises, his blood. They all labeled him a troublemaker immediately after the first meeting.

"So? You want ice cream?" she asked again, lips pouting and arms akimbo. She tapped her foot. When Cloud did not reply, she sighed, turned and walked home.

Cloud acted like nothing had ever happened, and he continued to sit quietly in front of his house.

But just a minute later, he heard another door slamming and Yuffie was tottering back, two mugs in her hands. Without waiting for an answer -or anything at all, in fact- she bounced onto the porch and slid down against the white pillar on the steps, just beside Cloud. She held out one mug.

"Ice cream. I like chocolate, so you're getting vanilla. Eat up."

He took the mug over dumbly. Peering inside, he saw a ball of ice cream inside and a silver spoon sticking out from it. The ice cream was a milky colour. Curiously, he scooped a small spoonful into his mouth and let it melt slowly on his tongue. It was cold and surprisingly saccharine, yet there was also an odd bitter aftertaste. He looked up.

He saw the smudges of brown chocolate ice cream on Yuffie's lips.

He saw the little hints of hazel in Yuffie's eyes.

He saw the new black in Yuffie's hair.

And he saw the dash of pink in Yuffie's cheeks.

It was then that Cloud understood that the colours in his memories were not a given. His memories had colour because of the people in it.

He dug into his vanilla ice cream without a word.

-owari-

**Teaser for next chapter: **It should have been a great day. After all, Riku had found the cutest server ever in the new ice cream parlor, and it seemed like he liked him too. Or at least thought he was hot. But the day doesn't turn out so great when Riku realizes that in order to get to the server, he would have to get through his twin. Exploding ice cream ensues.

**A/N: **I'm pleased to say that this series, which has been on hold since last year, has been revived. XD It's off to a slow start, but hopefully, I'll be able to write more for this series at a much faster pace. And here's what the upcoming chapters for Souffle are likely to contain:

1. Next chapter is the gang's first visit to the ice cream parlor and when Riku first meets Sora, as requested by Zenelly.  
2. A ficlet detailing the time between Yuffie/Cloud's confession in the classroom and Leon's confession, as requested by sparkly mangos on LJ.  
3. Probably a piece of Yuffie's wake.  
4. Cloud and Seifer's first meeting in the bookstore.  
5. A day in the life of the teachers of Radiant High, when news of Leon and Cloud dating first broke out, as requested by C.F.Evangel.

I still have a couple more, but I'm still considering. And while I'm doing that, continue to drop me comments your ideas for future chapters of this fic! And also, please R&R if you enjoyed this! Thanx!


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Vanilla Soufflé 5

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: R/S, some implied A/R

Word count: 2609

Rating: T

Warnings: AU, some romance, fluff, OOC-ness, humour bordering on crack

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to lay claim to Cloud, I'm kinda scared of Leon's gunblade. So well, I don't own Kingdom Hearts and its character, and neither do I own the various Final Fantasies and their characters.

Note: This is a series of spin-off drabbles and ficlets meant to explain some events in my other fic _Vanilla_. Also talks about the minor characters in _Vanilla_. This chappie is written on request for **Zenelly**, who wanted to see how Riku and the others started their tradition of visiting the ice cream parlor. Hope you'll like it!

Summary: It should have been a great day. After all, Riku had found the cutest server ever in the new ice cream parlor, and it seemed like he liked him too. Or at least thought he was hot. But the day doesn't turn out so great when Riku realizes that in order to get to the server, he would have to get through his twin. Exploding ice cream ensues.

* * *

_Five gentlemen's accounts of the case of the exploding ice cream in The Ice Cream Parlor That Never Was (a.k.a. TICPTNW for short) _

_Sora_

It was just all huge misunderstanding, really. From the look on your face, you understand how it is, right? I mean, things just always get blown out of gigantic proportions when Roxas is around and he gets over-protective.

So, it was nothing really.

…Okay, so we broke 10 chairs, 3 tables, and probably about 50 sundae glasses. Yes, and I was about to mention the 9 tubs of ice cream. Hey, but at least we found out that strawberry, mango, vanilla and cappuccino ice cream taste really good when they're put together.

Oi, together is together, right? Do we really have to go into the nitty gritty details of how /exactly/ those 4 flavours got mixed together? Yeah, I thought so. Oh, stop giving me the evil eye, Uncle Xigbar. And you're not going to report this to Xenmas, are you? Xenmas would just dock my pay and Roxas', and you /know/ just how difficult it is for us two to pay our rent and bills and still get an education on top of all that.

But it's alright. I mean, we've been through worse but we're still hanging on. It's no big deal, really. Oh, remember how you promised our parents that you'd take care of me and Roxas before they passed away? Mum says you're her only brother, so you would take care of us. And you've been doing a great job, by the way. It's just that, you know, the amount of money we'd have to pay Xenmas for this… thing today, we're going to have to eat grass for the next couple of, oh well, weeks, I guess. But it's okay. Roxas and I have experienced it before, that time when Roxas went ballistic in school after a guy groped me. It was tough paying for those ruined tables and chairs. And that chalkboard. And the bills for the janitor's visits to his psychiatrist. For the longest while then, I thought we would never finish paying off all our debts.

…You're paying for us? Really? Thanks so much, Uncle Xigbar! I knew you were our favourite uncle! Yes, you're our only uncle, but that's not important.

Anyway, where was I? Oh right. The 9 tubs of ice cream.

Actually, like I said, nothing much happened. A group of customers – and new ones too, I might add- just walked in, sat down, went through the menus, decided what they wanted, and then one of them called me over to take their orders. Nothing unusual. So I walked over, smiled, and asked them what they wanted. That was when Riku –oh, he's one of the new customers- looked up at me, got a little starry eyed, blushed, and then quickly schooled his features and gave me a confident smile. As well as his order. He was trying to impress me, I think.

And yes, from the look of your face, I see you can tell where this is going. Uncle Xigbar, you know Roxas far too well.

So apparently, Roxas took that confident smile as a leer and he marched up to us, pulled me away, ordered me into the kitchen, and took their orders instead. I just hid in the corner, just so I could hopefully stop Roxas if he decided to suddenly throw Riku and his friends out, you know. After all, that's not good for business, and me and Roxas… we already owe Xenmas so much for letting us work in his ice cream parlor, so it's only obligatory that I do a good job for him. I'm serious! Stop giving me that grin; it freaks me out. Thank you.

Ahem. So, Riku was looking rather disappointed at the turn of events, and his friends laughing at him didn't help matters. I wanted to go out there and console him and stuff, but with Roxas standing guard there, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to. You know what I mean, right? When Roxas gets mad, it's worse than an erupting volcano, an earthquake and a tornado put together. In fact, sometimes I think that it's kinda like the four horsemen of the Apocalypse rounding the corner.

What? No, I wasn't worried for Riku because he's attractive like you said. He's a customer, alright, and he was giving me the 'I'll-come-back-again-tomorrow' vibes. But yeah, he is kinda attractive. I like his hair and that megawatt smile he flashes at me.

Nooooo, I'm not! Really! Okay, I swear on your grave it's not like that.

… …Honestly, if you weren't my uncle, I would have sued you for abuse. That hurt, you know? Ow! Stop hitting my head! I have a chemistry test tomorrow, and if I fail, I'll tell my teacher it's because you insist on hitting my head and cause all that chem stuff I've already crammed into my head to fall out.

You noticed that we've been digressing a lot? Yeah, we have. No, it's not important if Riku is attractive or not and if I helped him only because he's hot. Oi, those were the adjectives you used, so stop shoving words into my mouth. Uncle Xigbar!

Okay, okay. So where were we again?

Oh yeah, we were at the part where I was hiding from Roxas, right? Right.

So Roxas was taking their orders, and Riku must have noticed that Roxas is related to me because we look alike… Hey, what's that supposed to mean? Roxas happens to like how he looks like, alright? And mum would have a fit if she heard you say that about us. Anyway, so Riku realized that Roxas and I are related, so I think he tried to impress Roxas too. You know, the old tactic of getting to someone through that someone's sibling and that sort of stuff? Yeah, so he tried that, and you can just imagine how Roxas reacted to that.

I swear there was this murderous aura around him.

Thank god Axel was there. He must have sensed something, so he sauntered over and sort of defused the time bomb and then casually led Roxas away with their orders. By the way, it's a brilliant idea to have Axel and Roxas work the same shifts. He's the only guy apart from me who is able to calm Roxas down.

And the minute they were gone, I just went back to Riku's table, to sort of placate them in case they had gotten offended by Roxas and also to check up on Riku. He just looked so down by the time Roxas was done with him. No, I won't admit I only did that because Riku looked hot like you said.

So Riku and his friends assured me that they were fine, and since there weren't a lot of customers in this afternoon, I just stayed there for a little while and chatted with them. It's called building relationships with the customers, you know? But ah, apparently I stayed there for a little too long, so when Roxas came out with their orders, I was still there. And call it bad luck. He happened to see us at the exact moment Demyx was walking by with someone else's orders, bumped into me and caused me to fall right into Riku's lap. Hey, what are you getting at? I didn't bribe Demyx! It was a coincidence, I swear!

Anyway, I'm not sure what happened after that, but when I sort of got my bearings around again, everything had already happened.

All I remember hearing is Roxas yelling something about lecherous wolves preying on people's younger brother and a lot of glass breaking.

You should probably ask Axel or Demyx for what happened during that part of Roxas' rage.

And keep it from Xenmas, okay? Just… tell him a tornado came. It's a very selective tornado, alright? And that's why we're the only shop in the entire district to get turned upside down.

* * *

_Axel _

I'm sure Sora's already told you pretty much everything, so I'll just make it quick. To make things short, customers walked in, one of them perked up when he saw Sora, his eyes lit up like a wolf's upon seeing his next meal, Sora got groped, Roxas saw it, things went boom and things broke.

That's about it. But don't think for one second it was Roxas' fault, because it isn't. Roxas was just trying to protect Sora's modesty.

What? You think I'm siding with Roxas because I like him? You think far too little of me, Xigbar. No, and no. He didn't promise me anything to speak up for him, and this is not going to get me into his pants, alright?

Shut up now, Xigbar. And stop laughing. Roxas does not have me whipped!

* * *

_Demyx _

…You're not going to fire me, are you, Xigbar? I swear it was an accident! I mean, these four girls were totally hollering non-stop for their orders, even when I already had another 3 tables to serve and there was nobody else around to serve them! So it's understandable that I walked a little faster over to them, right? And then when you walk too fast, you tend to not be able to react fast enough even when you see someone's blocking your way? Yeah, I saw Sora chatting up to the customer, but I was just in so much of a rush I couldn't stop in time! And then I just… I just walked into him! But having some dance background, I got my balance back pretty quickly, and those sundaes and banana splits on my tray were completely fine. Did you catch my great balancing act, huh? I should have gotten a place in the world records for that, you know? So anyway, I got my balance and things were fine. But nooo Sora just had to lose /his/ balance and fall right into that customer's lap.

And then Roxas came. He came, he saw, and he broke hell of a lot of things.

The timing was just… woah, perfect! It's like we're acting out some yaoi fangirl's script where the over-protective sibling walks into his younger brother making out with his boyfriend. Okay, not that Sora was making out with that guy, but still!

Uh, I'm not getting fired… right?

* * *

_Riku _

So you're the manager? Are you going to review your employment policies over here? What were you thinking when you gave that kid a job? He almost killed me!

What? He thinks I groped his twin brother? Hell no! If I were to grope Sora, I would have done it more subtly, not the fall-into-my-lap-and-plant-your-face-in-my-crotch type of scenario which is just too dramatic. To be honest, as hot as that is, it's a little disturbing to have that happen in bright daylight and in full view of all my friends. Do you realize how long Tidus and Leon are going to laugh at me? Okay, so Leon isn't going to laugh at me outright, but I hate that thing he does instead. His lips just twitches, and whatever amuses ice prince Leon, his fans are bound to want to find out. And then I'll become the laughing stock of the whole school.

I'm half-torn between thanking that blond server –oh, his name is Demyx, is it?- and wringing his neck.

That accident was one hell of a coincidence, I tell you. The Demyx guy, he just walked over and bumped Sora right into me. Not my fault, right?

But no, the moment overly protective big brother sees Sora with his face in my crotch, he just went ballistic. I didn't even have to chance to explain anything at all! The second I opened my mouth, his metal tray was heading straight for my face like some Frisbee. And that was my order on top of that tray, for god's sake! By the way, is that guy by any chance an Olympics athlete for shot-put or javelin?

He's not? Really?

Anyway, I ducked that tray obviously, but the next thing I know, the ice cream just exploded. Do you guys serve ice cream laced with gun powder or what? And then tables were overturned, chairs were broken, and I'm not so sure what happened after that. What? Do you honestly think I would risk my life and stick out my head from where I was hiding behind to actually /see/? You've got to be kidding me!

Yeah, I want compensation. It's only right that I get compensated for this trauma. And Tidus will be whining to me about how he didn't even get to taste a bit of his sundae, so that's going to be additional trauma.

How about on top of that money, you arrange for Sora to go out on a date with me once?

What? No? How about we forget about the money, and just let Sora go out with me?

Still no?

* * *

_Roxas _

Mmmmf! Mmmmf! MMMMMMFFFFF!

…What the hell were you thinking! You actually gagged me! And oof! Untie me this instant! How could you tie me to a chair!?

No, I won't promise to not break anything! I'm going to break that lecher's neck the minute I get out of this! Now let me go, Xigbar! And I mean it! Let me go right now! I said right now! Which part of 'right now' do you not understand!?

Okay! Fine! Would you please untie me/Uncle/ Xigbar? …What? There's no way I'm saying that! Grr! Fine! Would you please untie me, Uncle Xigbar?

…Pretty please?

What!? I've already said what you wanted me to! Why aren't you untying me? You liar! You did all that just to make me call you uncle! You're a sick, sadistic man, Xigbar! If you're really my uncle, you would untie me right away and help me get rid of that lecher! Didn't you see him grope Sora!? Sora's your nephew, isn't he? As his uncle, you are obliged to protect his modesty!

…What do you mean 'nuclear disaster'!?

Hey wait a minute! I didn't break everything! I wasn't responsible for breaking all those tables and chairs! I only threw my tray at that bastard! And he ducked it, alright? So it's only right that I chuck another thing at him! So what if it was a chair I chucked? That chair needed to be repaired anyway, so we might as well have gotten a new one! Right, and that table.

…How would I know? I wasn't the only one responsible for throwing all that stuff around. Axel was in it too. And so was Demyx. And that bastard and his friends. Ask them.

What!? No way. I do /not/ need anger management classes. I was just protecting my younger brother, alright? What's wrong with that?

You want me to what? Be less aggressive and destructive while I'm playing knight-in-shining-armour? I'm not Sora's knight-in-shining-armour! I'm his elder brother – yes, older by 7 minutes – and with that position come the responsibility and obligation to take care of him!

…Fine, I'll try to break fewer things next time, but no guarantees. If I see that bastard grope Sora again!

My tray? Hit him with my tray? It's okay as long my tray doesn't leave my hand?

…You're saying this just you want to keep damages to a minimal and not because you're worried for the customer, right?

Well, thanks, but I kinda figured that out myself.

Now can you untie me? What? Ohhhh! Fine! Please untie me, Uncle Xigbar!

…Pretty please.

-tbc-

**Teaser for next chapter: Leon had never imagined that the spunky girl would die so young. Nor did he ever imagine how helpless he would feel when he saw Cloud at her wake. **

**A/N: **Finally, an update! And Zenelly, don't know if you're still following this series, but if you do, this is for you. Thanx for the wonderful suggestion of a souffle dedicated to how the tradition of Riku and his gang patronizing the ice cream parlor was started. XD Hope it lived up to your expectations.

If any of you have any good ideas, feel free to leave it in your comments. And if you want to know the chances of me actually writing it, try to sign in so I'll have a way of contacting you.

In the meantime, please review if this piece tickled your fancy and made you laugh! Thanx!


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Vanilla Soufflé 6

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: L/C

Word count: 1168

Rating: PG

Warnings: AU, romance, angst, death

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to lay claim to Cloud, I'm kinda scared of Leon's gunblade. So well, I don't own Kingdom Hearts and its character, and neither do I own the various Final Fantasies and their characters.

Note: This is a series of spin-off drabbles and ficlets meant to explain some events in my other fic _Vanilla_. Also talks about the minor characters in _Vanilla_.

Summary: Leon had never imagined that the spunky girl would die so young. Nor did he ever imagine how helpless he would feel when he saw Cloud at her wake.

* * *

If there was one thing that tied all teenagers together, one thing that remained constant amongst youths across the world, across all races, across all faith and religion… if there was one such thing, then it was surely this. 

Their blind faith in the fallacy of a mortality that would not come so soon. That death was not for the young.

But Leon knew that wasn't true. He knew it wasn't true every time he saw and heard about the impoverished villages in the third-world countries. He knew it couldn't be true every time he read in the local papers of another teenager dead in an accident.

He knew it wasn't true the day he had arrived early in school for a meeting with his fellow kendo club members, only to have a weary coach Auron inform them quietly about Yuffie's death.

It had been a driver arguing heatedly on his cell phone, too enraged to pay attention to the road and see the red light, he said simply.

Cloud never came to school that day.

Or the day after that. And the day after. And the days after.

Even then, Leon had wondered if it was just a sick joke, put together painstakingly by the mischievous girl, and she had managed to get everyone to play along with her. Yuffie had always been a charming girl; surely she could accomplish such an easy thing?

He was still uncertain when a strangely subdued Riku asked him if he wanted to go to the wake together.

When Leon's eyes fell upon the white, elegant coffin, he paused, drawing in a sharp breath. In his mind's eye, Yuffie had suddenly sprung up, laughing that irritating and obnoxious laughter she was so well-known for, and yell in that haughty little voice of hers, "What? Did you really think I was dead? No way, man! You gotta do better than that to get rid of me!"

Her voice faded away, and Leon wished he could hear that unbearable laughter again. He would even give in to her, if the girl tried to blackmail him about Cloud again.

Maybe it would be fun.

Maybe Leon would get more photos of Cloud.

Maybe he would get another slice of the butter cake Cloud baked.

And maybe… surely, Yuffie would have the time of her life, teasing him and goading him to "just confess already!"

But when Leon opened his eyes –when had he closed them, anyway?- Yuffie's punch-line had all but disappeared into the waves upon waves of fresh tears and old heartaches.

She remained peacefully asleep, and nothing could ever disturb her again.

Not even the sobbing and choking of everyone around her could rouse her.

Leon could recognize a few of them. Schoolmates, classmates, the kendo team… Yuffie had always had a lot of friends and people who cared for her. They were crying in quietly huddled groups, seeking strength from one another, providing strength for one another. Even Yuffie's parents, whom Leon had met once during a kendo tournament and they had come down to cheer for their only daughter, were standing together, weeping together. Their wiry frames shuddered as a fresh bout of sobs wrecked their bodies when another relative tried to console them with words everyone knew was just a sympathetic gesture. A patronizing one, in fact.

But it remained that one did not deal with death alone.

However, there was one lone individual sitting all by himself in a dark corner of the dimly lit room, slumped on the ground and hugging his knees close. His face was half-hidden in the shadows cast upon him, his eyes swollen, empty and dry. The blues of his eyes, the one that Leon had always only associated with him, were gone now, covered by an angry crisscross of startling scarlet. He was staring straight ahead, blank and unseeing. Perhaps he was, in his mind's eye, remembering all the good memories he had shared with the girl now lying peacefully in her eternal sleep. The heart-wrenching sobs and shuddering cries of those around did not seem to reach him. He remained in his little corner, quietly, silently, motionlessly.

Leon thought a fragment of Cloud's heart had died along with Yuffie.

Unconsciously, he ambled over to Cloud's corner, and when he towered right before him, Cloud did not raise his head despite being completely in the darkness now. Did he even realize there was someone in front of him, blocking all his light?

Kneeling on one knee now, he tried to meet Cloud's gaze. But he couldn't, not when Cloud was staring at nothing.

Seeing Cloud like this broke his heart.

Hesitantly, he reached out with a shaky hand, hoping to take Cloud into his arms and offer him comfort. But his hand stilled when he was just merely inches away from the silent blond. Suddenly, in that short moment, Leon felt afraid to touch Cloud. It was as though the blond was a porcelain doll: too easily shattered and once broken, irreparable.

Cloud was still staring into nothingness, his eyes unfocused and dull.

Leon retracted his hand, but he wanted to try again, to comfort Cloud. He opened his mouth, but when he realized that he knew nothing but patronizing condolences, he swallowed. Words -words that should be coming from the bottom of his heart- would not come.

He wanted to tell Cloud that things would be fine, that everything would turn out fine. But he couldn't, knowing it wasn't the truth. Yuffie's death was too fresh, her absence too glaringly obvious and cuttingly felt.

He wanted to tell Cloud that he knew what he was going through. But he didn't, because he had never experienced the loss of his best and only friend. Yuffie had been a friend, a good friend, but she had not been his best friend.

He wanted to tell Cloud that he would be there for him, that he would help Cloud pull through his loss. But he stopped himself, fully aware that he couldn't. Nobody could ever replace Yuffie's memory, and Leon refused to demean her like that.

Even if she was dead.

Even if she had died.

How could she have died so young, so suddenly!?

Leon was never one for crying. Crying, he had always believed, did nothing to help matters. If anything, crying usually made things even worse than they already were.

But that night, as he sat down on the floor beside Cloud, he thought he couldn't cry enough.

The tears wouldn't stop now. They cascaded down his cheeks quietly, the twin tracks of pain obvious and plain for all to see.

If Cloud wouldn't cry/couldn't/ cry anymore, Leon would do it for him.

Silently, he let his arm wrap around Cloud's shoulders, carefully pulling him close, offering him human contact and warmth as much as he could. And when Cloud's head fell onto his shoulder like a limb doll, Leon did not protest. He held him tighter.

They would get through this together.

-tbc-

**Teaser for next chapter: **Leon wasn't the type to daydream. Or at least he didn't seem so. But when it comes to a certain blond, it seems that daydreams are the closest he'd ever get to him. So what's up with Cloud's sudden confession in class? That didn't happen… did it?

**A/N:** Believe it or not, this chapter was actually completed over a year ago, but it has since undergone several rewrites and edits. I really don't like writing angst. It's so hard to write a convincing piece when it comes to angst, and I really admire those who do it well.

Anyway, please don't forget to comment and review! Thanx!


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Vanilla Soufflé 7

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: L/C

Word count: 3825

Rating: PG13

Warnings: AU, romance, fluff

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to lay claim to Cloud, I'm kinda scared of Leon's gunblade. So well, I don't own Kingdom Hearts and its character, and neither do I own the various Final Fantasies and their characters.

Note: This is a series of spin-off drabbles and ficlets meant to explain some events in my other fic _Vanilla_. Also talks about the minor characters in _Vanilla_.

Note 2: This chapter was done on request of someone on LJ, who wanted to see a piece on how Leon felt when Cloud "asked" him out. Erm, I didn't actually manage to cover that part, but I think you'll still like this chapter. :)

Summary: Leon wasn't the type to daydream. Or at least he didn't seem so. But when it comes to a certain blond, it seems that daydreams are the closest he'd ever get to him. So what's up with Cloud's sudden confession in class? That didn't happen… did it?

* * *

The day was much too warm for this.

The fan was barely working, and he had already drained at least 2 glasses of ice water, including the melted ice. And condensation had caused a ring of water to appear on his desk, which he was much too lazy to get a tissue or something to clean up because it just expended too much energy. The day was just too warm for him to justify such a waste of energy.

When were the repairmen going to arrive, anyway? It was already late evening, and if his air-conditioner wasn't going to get fixed within the next 2 hours, Leon was not going to get any sleep tonight. And to think he still had an assignment to complete. Not to mention a chemistry quiz the next day. Oh joy.

Leon glared at the sheet of assignment on his table, inwardly hoping that it would just curl up and die. Geography was put in this world to kill someone's brain cells. Nothing more. It was probably thought out of a mad scientist's head and he was going to use it for his world domination plans: kill everyone's brain cells with geography, and no one would object to a crazed man declaring himself king. Math was the icing on the cake, so to speak.

He drummed his finger, sighing. It wasn't that he couldn't complete his assignment. No, that wasn't it at all. Leon had little problems with school, even if it /was/ geography. The thing that really irked him was, in fact, how the subject held little interest for him. It was just such a mundane topic.

But Cloud was horrible at geography, wasn't he? Yuffie had once told him that Cloud had a sift for brains when it came to the subject: nothing stayed inside, basically. And the girl had been horribly blatant in her hints that maybe someone should give Cloud some one-on-one, intense tutoring. Special high intensity tutoring, she'd called it, or S.H.I.T. for short.

Yuffie had always been a prankster more than a cupid, and she never made any changes to rectify that. But Leon supposed that was what made her such an endearing annoyance, and part of the reason why he wished she was still alive.

And still, despite that horribly mutilated name, Leon never stopped thinking about the possibilities if it ever happened for real.

Where would they study together? Maybe Cloud would invite Leon over to his house, and their tutoring would, as the days went by, move from the living room all the way to Cloud's bedroom. Or maybe Cloud would meekly suggest that they study at Leon's house. Well, Leon would make sure that they skipped the living room phase altogether and went straight to his bedroom.

…Not that he was planning on doing anything apart from studying, really. Well, a person's bedroom was supposed to be a manifestation of their personality, wasn't it? If so, then surely, the bedroom would be the perfect place to build up bonds between two people?

And for every correct answer, Leon would reward the blond with a short, sweet kiss. Nothing too heated. Just a sweet, little touch of their lips, so he wouldn't scare Cloud away. From what he knew, Cloud was highly jittery. So just something really sweet and tender, after which Cloud would smile shyly at him from under his jagged bangs.

He and Cloud would… date, be boyfriends, and he'd finally have Cloud in his arms.

… …As if that would ever happen.

He sighed deeper.

Daydreams aside, the sheet of assignment was still staring back at him, empty and waiting to be filled. Nope, still not about to spontaneously combust, it seemed.

He huffed, rolling his eyes. It was still too warm to think properly. After stretching his body to get rid of the kinks and knots, _(he sighed blissfully when a pair of soft hands started to knead his stiff shoulders and someone leaned forward to breathe into his ear, "Feeling any better, Lee?")_ he slumped back into his chair like a puddle of goo. Perhaps another glass of ice water would help. But it would mean getting up from his chair.

What to do, what to do?

The decision was made for him when his phone rang shrilly, reminding Leon of someone's fingernails scratching across a chalkboard. It was definitely just as irritating.

He sat still for a moment, inwardly hoping that the calls would cease if he just ignored it. It did after a moment, and blessed silence, for which Leon could continue to debate if he wanted to get up for a cold drink, returned. Then, just when he had decided that he'd much prefer to lay slumped on his chair some more and conserve his energy, the phone rang again. Leon was tempted to pout, until he reminded himself that he didn't pout. So with twitch of his lips, he picked up the phone.

_("Hey Squall! Glad you're there! For a moment, I thought you weren't at home!" his father said cheerfully. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I'll be home soon. Tell your sister to cook my share for dinner tonight, alright?") _

Leon's brow twitched almost violently after a few moments of silence while he listened to the other person on the phone. "Yes, I'm in the house. Why do you mean that no one's answering the door? No one's rang the doorbell the whole day! Are you sure you got the right address? …No! I said 8, not 28! I'm on street 8! You just sent your repairmen halfway across the town! …Yes, I'll still be the house, waiting for your guys to get here so they can fix my air-conditioner. Speed it up," he ordered before slamming the phone back onto its cradle, feeling more than a little irritated. Where were all the competent people when you needed them?

Now it really wasn't a good idea to stay in his room much longer, seeing how the repairmen probably weren't going to make it here until at least another hour. The possibility of being baked alive was starting to sound really plausible now, especially when coupled with some people's seemingly innate idiocy.

So grabbing his books and stationery, Leon made to move downstairs to the dining room, where he knew he count on the giant fan there to be working. That, and it was close enough to the kitchen that grabbing a glass of iced water wouldn't be too troublesome too. Leon only hoped that his elder sister wouldn't expect him to help out with dinner. Really, she was only cooking for the two of them since their father was still out of town, so what help did she need, right?

Right.

As he was packing up his stuff and tidying up his desk at the same time, his actions stilled for a moment when his eyes settled upon a sheet of paper. Careless doodles dotted the edges, as did faint impressions of pencil lines already erased, and right smack in the middle of the faint yellow paper, was a sketch of Leon's favourite earring: Fenrir.

Sometimes, he'd imagine Cloud's reaction at seeing the amount of effort Leon had put in for him. Maybe he'd take a look at Fenrir and declare it the best-looking earring he'd ever seen. Or maybe he'd decide that he wanted to pierce his ears immediately just so he could wear it at once. Leon felt a tug on his lips just imagining the look of amazement on Cloud's face.

_(A smile blossomed across Cloud's lips and his eyes positively lit up. "Thanks Lee." And then there was a kiss on his cheeks.) _

Leon smiled ruefully. As much as he wanted that to happen, he had no idea how to. Sad as it was, Leon couldn't really remember the last time he and Cloud had spoken to each other for more than five minutes. Three minutes. One minute.

Hell, had it even ever happened before? Come to think of it…

No, Leon didn't think so. Cloud had always been a reclusive and shy person who kept to himself and Yuffie. And now that Yuffie was no longer around, Cloud just took his loner act even more seriously. It wasn't that he was aloof or cold or had a holier-than-thou attitude. Oh no, not that. Cloud was always polite. He just didn't talk much or strike up conversations, like he was trying desperately to blend into his surroundings.

How was he ever going to get closer to Cloud? In his dreams, probably.

Leon sighed. Keeping the sketch of Fenrir in a drawer, he grabbed his stuff and headed downstairs. He could dream of his crush later. The damn assignment was due tomorrow.

…Damn assignment.

…And why wasn't Cloud asking for his help in geography? Damn geography.

* * *

It seemed that school was always going to be a dreary affair, and this morning was especially so. Leon thought it was rather challenging to describe his morning otherwise, not when he had barely completed his three assignments due today and had gotten ambushed by two first-years who had gotten instantly dreamy eyed and touchy-feely when they saw him walk by. And as though all that weren't quite enough, Leon had left his chemistry textbook at home when he had a quiz scheduled some time after lunch.

The day had barely started, and Leon could already tell: it wasn't going to be a good day.

He shuffled over to his locker amidst the throng of students, and with a practiced hand, unlocked the combination padlock. Vaguely, he reminded himself to take his literature textbook out, but that was forgotten when the door to his locker swung open and Leon's eyes widened.

_(Sitting within and propped up nicely by his stack of textbooks, was a letter addressed to him, and there, across the plain white envelope, was Cloud's handwriting in elegant script. To my dearest Leon, it read.) _

"Not another one," he grumbled, reaching inside his locker to take out a fistful of trash. Who was the genius who had decided that it was okay to stuff pamphlets advertising school activities into lockers? As interesting as it was to have a flea market in school and even better to have a chance to rent a bit of space to peddle his wares, Leon did not appreciate having to clean up his locker every morning. And it took up space in his locker, space for which Cloud could have slotted a love letter for him!

Bah. The chances of that happening were probably lower than getting hit by a meteorite while walking around in school, but he could still hope.

Slamming his locker shut with a resounding crash, he adjusted the books in his hands. Carefully, he declined a girl's offer to help him with one of his extra thick books. He was never going to accept help from anybody who had stood nearby for the past what, five minutes and pouncing immediately at a chance to help him. Too dangerous. Besides, if he remembered, that girl was one of his more obsessive fans, part of those self-proclaimed 'Leonites'. Really, what was Zell thinking when he named the fan club members that?

…Probably nothing, which was the problem.

Suddenly, as Leon looked up, he noticed a flash of yellow in the corridor in front of him and he perked up. Cloud, _(who upon noticed Leon's presence, smiled and gave him a shy but warm wave)_ he realized. Leon blushed at the mental image and quickly followed him to class.

* * *

Something was bothering Cloud. Either that, or Cloud was feeling unwell. There were no other reasons why the blond would sit so still at his desk with his head buried in his hands like he was in pain. And he was even groaning, for heaven's sake!

Leon had been debating with himself for the past five minutes if he should just throw caution to the wind and go up to Cloud and offer his help. Maybe Cloud needed to go to the infirmary and sleep for a bit, and Leon wanted to help him there. Or if Cloud was having a problem with something –anything!- Leon wanted to be the one to help him.

Problem was, as much as Leon wanted to help, he had no excuse to go over. After all, Cloud didn't know him very well (though Leon couldn't say so the other way around), and Leon had never been known to be the caring one in the class. It just wasn't his style. Still!

Just as when he was about to say 'screw it!' and get up from his seat, a gentle hand settled upon his shoulder. Leon looked up. It was Aeris, who had left her seat. She shook her head kindly.

"You'll probably scare him. I'll go."

And there was nothing Leon could do but nod. In his daydreams, Cloud would walk up to him and throw himself onto his lap if he got a headache. Wrapping his arms loosely around Leon's neck, Cloud would sigh and bury his face deeper into Leon's shirt. In his lesser daydreams, Leon would muster up the courage and walk up to the blond.

_(He walked over, and with a concerned smile, said, "Hey Cloud, are you alright? I can help you with anything, you know? Anything.")_

But daydreams were just daydreams. Aeris was the one over there talking to his crush.

Jealousy was such an ugly thing, Leon decided. In the few minutes that Aeris had spent talking to Cloud, he found himself severely tempted to head over, pull his friend back to her seat, and talk to Cloud himself. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Aeris' help. He did, really. The thing was, seeing how she could hold a normal conversation with Cloud for so long, Leon wondered why he couldn't.

_("Hi Leon, can we talk? It's just that we've been classmates for so long, but we've never had a real, nice conversation, so I thought I'd come over and you know, talk with you?") _

And then Aeris was back, with a faint smile and a soft message: Cloud was alright. Apparently he had a bad morning, but he was still mostly alright. Leon was about to grill the girl for details when all of a sudden, Cloud got up from his desk, the sound of his chairs scrapping across the floor like nails on chalkboard. Leon's eyes were immediately glued onto him.

His breath caught in his throat at the sight of the blond ambling in his direction, weaving through the multitude of desks and chairs cautiously. Leon could only swallow nervously, inwardly hoping against hope that Cloud was looking for /him/. Him. Not Aeris. Not Riku. Not anyone else. His heart felt a hundred times lighter when Cloud called for him, and Leon thought his name had never sounded so good.

" Leon?"

Cloud's voice was sweet, but there was also a barely veiled anxiety. What for, Leon wondered. Didn't Cloud know that Leon hung on his every word? Didn't he know what Leon would do just to get a chance to really talk to him? He found himself unable to look away, unable to think of anything else but /Cloud/. Inwardly, he hoped that he wasn't going to scare his crush away.

And what was Cloud going to say? That he needed Leon's help in his geography homework? That he wanted to borrow something? Leon tried to concentrate, but it was a little difficult to do so when all he could see was Cloud's pink lips. And his imagination couldn't help but run wild again.

_(Cloud bent down to lean against Leon's desk, and with only a short moment of hesitation, quickly pressed his lips to Leon's cheek…) _

Leon prayed that he wasn't blushing. Clearing his head of every impossible scenario, he reminded himself that Cloud was right in front of him, and it wasn't such a good idea to zone out when his crush was voluntarily talking to him for the first time. He forced himself to listen, and he was relieved when he realized that Cloud seemed to be mustering the courage to talk, so he didn't think he'd missed anything at all.

"Actually…Actually I…" Cloud bit on his bottom lip, eyes blinking rapidly. So cute.

Vaguely, Leon wondered what were the chances of Cloud confessing a long hidden crush on himself. Probably close to zero, but one could always hope, right? As quickly as that thought had come, they were suppressed and buried into the depths of Leon's imaginative mind. He growled inwardly. Stop thinking of such things when Cloud is talking to you, Leonhart! You don't want to scare Cloud away! Stop it!

And he forced himself to meet Cloud's eyes again. He half-wished that Cloud would just quickly say his piece and leave Leon alone; it was such a torture to have his imagination running so wild yet he could do nothing to act upon those temptations or risk scaring Cloud away. Yet at the same time, Leon treasured such moments when Cloud actually talked to him, and this time, Cloud had even approached him of his own accord.

The blond closed his eyes for a moment, as though steeling himself for something, and when he opened those clear blues again, there was a glimmer of determination within them. Leon swallowed, almost nervous as to hearing what Cloud wanted to tell him.

And then Cloud finally spoke.

_("Actually I've liked you since last year! Will you please be my boyfriend?") _

Leon felt his eyes widen and his mouth dry. His world had all but muted, and he could hear nothing but Cloud's voice. Boyfriend? Cloud liked him? Cloud /liked/ him? Cloud liked /him/?

Impossible!

Surely, he was dreaming? Because what had just happened couldn't have happened. It just wasn't possible. Surely, it had just been a figment of his over active imagination that had been driven to overdrive this morning by the idea of spending the next two hours of his life in Mr. Highwind's class.

But when he opened his eyes – when had he closed them, anyway? - Cloud was still standing there, looking at him expectantly and his blue eyes tinged with a good measure of apprehension and embarrassment.

At that sight, a loud 'yes' was waiting to roll off Leon's lips, but he stopped himself. His imagination was getting too wild.

He was about to ask Cloud to repeat whatever he had said –because surely, he couldn't have just confessed a year-long crush on Leon!- but he was forced to swallow his words when the door was flung open and Mr. Highwind stomped in, chewing on a straw and slamming his books on the table.

Cloud gasped, and with one final glance at Leon, scrambled back to his seat. Leon's attempt to call him back died at Mr. Highwind's sharp glare, and he feebly retracted his hand. Still, his eyes remained on Cloud.

* * *

As Mr. Highwind droned on about class –whatever it was, Leon had no idea- Leon found his eyes darting over to Cloud, who was hunched over his desk and scribbling quickly on his notebook. The world could be ending, in fire or in ice, and Leon couldn't care any less. All he could see was Cloud.

What had Cloud said to him earlier, anyway? Wild imagination aside, what had the blond really said?

_("Actually I've liked you since last year! Will you please be my boyfriend?")_

Leon's mouth dried and his heart skipped a beat, but he forcefully pulled his head back onto the ground. No, that couldn't have been what Cloud said, no matter how much Leon wanted it to be true. Absently, he sighed. His imagination was such a cruel mistress.

Suddenly, something hit him and bounced onto his desk. Leon blinked. Eyes darting sideways to see Riku goading him to read his note –good, Mr. Highwind was concentrating on writing something on the whiteboard – he quickly unfolded the little slip of paper.

"You must be drowning in ecstasy inside, buddy! So what are you going to tell him during lunch time? Declare your everlasting love for him?"

Before he could pen a reply and chuck it at his snickering friend to demand that he explain what the hell did he meant by that note and for god's sake stop being so cruel, another slip of paper hopped onto his desk. This time, it was Tidus' turn to hide his chuckle behind his hand with a sharp nod towards his note. Leon gave him a suspicious look before unfolding the note.

"Forget about class! Just grab Cloud and hightail it out of here!"

Stop it! Stop it! Leon wanted to yell.

Ever since his best friends had found out about his crush on Cloud, they'd taken turns to relentlessly tease him and Leon couldn't really blame them. Before Tidus and Selphie had gotten together, he had found much delight in joining forces with Riku to goad the boy into confessing his feelings to Selphie, and ever since Riku had fallen head over heels for Sora, he shifted gears and began teasing the silver-haired boy in his own quiet way.

But now was neither the time nor day to tease him, to hang the possibility of himself dating Cloud over his head like a baiting carrot and quickly jerking it away before he could get a bite.

And then Aeris' note found its way to his desk.

"Now we know what was bothering Cloud this morning! Can you believe Cloud just confessed his crush on you in front of the entire class?"

Leon's eyes widened, his hands trembled, and his breathing stopped. Aeris disliked lies, hated lying. She wasn't heartless enough to jibe. It wasn't in her character.

So… It wasn't his cruel imagination? Cloud had came up to him, blushed, and told him he had a crush on him for over a year? That was real? It had really happened?

His eyes shot over to Cloud again. The blond had chanced a quick glance behind, and when their eyes met, he gasped and quickly turned back to his work. That fleeting moment was so short it barely existed, but it was forever ingrained into Leon's mind. He would never forget the way Cloud's blue eyes had gazed at him.

At that moment, Leon knew.

He didn't have to imagine a life with Cloud anymore.

He would have the real Cloud in his arms, and they would kiss over geography, hug each other when one of them got a headache, and they would talk.

Cloud would walk up to him, offer him a smile so stunning it would take his breath away, and say, "Hi Leon, can we talk?"

And he would cup Cloud's cheek in his hand, tuck that beautifully golden, errant lock of hair behind his ear, and reply, "Always."

-tbc-

**Teaser for next chapter: **Axel had not wanted a job. Roxas had. They ran into each other in the street corner that connected Twilight Street and Dusk Road. Roxas got his job. So did Axel.

**A/N: **Ha ha, I did say I'd write something more lighthearted after that last chapter, so here we have ditzy Leon and posessed Cloud finally getting together. If it wasn't clear in the fic, all those parts in parenthesis and italics are just Leon's imagination and did not happen. Well, except that last bit, which we all know. XD

More of this fic series to come really soon! So please don't forget to comment and review if you enjoyed this chapter! Thanx for your support! It's going to be another year soon, and I hope that you'll continue to support my fics in the new year! Thanx very much!


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Vanilla Soufflé 8

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: Axel/Roxas

Word count: 1472

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: AU, romance, fluff, humour

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to lay claim to Cloud, I'm kinda scared of Leon's gunblade. So well, I don't own Kingdom Hearts and its character, and neither do I own the various Final Fantasies and their characters.

Note: This is a series of spin-off drabbles and ficlets meant to explain some events in my other fic _Vanilla_. Also talks about the minor characters in _Vanilla_.

Note 2: This chapter is dedicated to Rainbow Serenity, who wanted a AkuRoku for Christmas! Merry Christmas, dearie!

Summary: Axel had not wanted a job. Roxas had. They ran into each other in the street corner that connected Twilight Street and Dusk Road. Roxas got his job. So did Axel.

* * *

When Axel had walked down the streets one day, bored out of his skull and pockets full of the money his parents had all but shoved inside to reward him for his near perfect grades in classes again (he'd have gotten perfect grades actually, but he didn't want to steal Zexion's thunder and make it harder for his pal to impress his crush), he hadn't been looking for anything in particular.

Especially not a job.

Dear gods, anything but a job.

What was the point?

Axel's parents had cushy, stable jobs that paid them enough to afford a huge house and nice cars, and being the only child in his family meant any spare cash in his grandparents, uncles, and aunts' wallets eventually ended up in his bank account.

No, Axel did not want to throw himself into a job so soon. Not when he was just in high school.

There would be enough work after graduation to last a lifetime, so he did not plan on ever getting a job until he was well out of university. In fact, he was already planning for a nice gap year after graduation so he could backpack and see the world, fool around a bit before returning to his dreary hometown and become some mindless office drone.

So nope, as Axel was walking down the streets that day, getting a job was the last thing on his mind.

* * *

When Roxas had shoved his younger twin's head under the cold water running from their tap so the lazy butt would finally wake up, he had yelled furiously about how they were going to be late for their job interviews at the new ice cream parlor in town. And because Sora had so very kindly put the last of their cold cereal out of their misery by getting up at 3 a.m. the night prior and eating every last crunch, they would have to leave their apartment with no breakfast.

There was no way they'd have time to grab something fast on the way to the job interview. Not that they had the spare change to buy anything, of course.

Dear gods, but they needed that job so god-damn much.

Ever since their parents had passed away and their uncle Xigbar took over their guardianship, money had been tight. Well, it certainly wasn't Roxas' fault that a good portion of whatever money they had always went towards compensating whatever he broke. There were just too many guys in this world who liked to hit on his younger twin, and as his elder brother, it was Roxas' duty to rid the world of these disgusting, slimy perverts. If it meant having to destroy a table or two in the process, then so be it.

It was just such a strain on their resources.

So who cared about having to juggle between a job and their high school education?

It had to be done.

It would be done.

So yes, as the twins were sprinting down the streets that day, getting a job was the most important thing on their minds.

* * *

At approximately 10.09 a.m. that day, Axel was walking down Twilight Street, talking on his cell phone with his high school friend Zexion about how Demyx, Zexion's crush and their mutual friend, wasn't performing so well in his science subjects. Surely, the blond wouldn't object to a bit of one-to-one tutoring, he'd suggested.

At 10.11 a.m., he got off the phone amidst Zexion's sputters and clamped it shut before sliding it into his back pocket. On second thoughts, he took it out again and sent a quickly composed text message to Demyx that he was going to get the one-on-one tutoring he wanted from Zexion and if he wanted anything else, he'd have to talk to Zexion himself. Axel was nobody's message boy.

10.12 a.m. and still bored out of his mind. Maybe he'd pass on another message from Demyx to Zexion?

10.15 a.m., Axel rounded the corner that marked the end of Twilight Street and the beginning of Dusk Road.

10 seconds after 10.15 a.m., the redhead fell heavily on his bottom when someone crashed into him like a 16-wheeler on a highway chase.

5 seconds later, as strings of colourful swear words rolled off his tongue in a way that was too eloquent to be normal, Axel raised his head and fell in love.

* * *

At 10.09 a.m., after sprinting for 10 minutes, Roxas almost growled under his breath when he realized they were still nowhere near the ice cream parlor. When had Dusk Road gotten so frigging long, anyway?

10.12 a.m., he backtracked to grab Sora by his collar and continued to sprint while gathering enough breath to castigate his brother for being lured away by the smells wafting out of a nearby coffee house.

10.15 a.m., just when Roxas thought he was going to die from lack of air and not going to have the opportunity to realize his plans of murdering his uncle for telling them about the job opening but not offering to drive them there when it was so frigging far, they finally got to the end of Dusk Road and rounded the corner to Twilight Street.

10 seconds after that, he yelped when he ran into someone and landed unceremoniously on top of his younger brother, who had been running behind him.

5 seconds later, he picked up his younger brother and continued sprinting, with barely an apologetic word to the person he'd just very nearly bulldozed over.

Another 15 seconds later, Sora commented breathlessly about the redhead they had run into earlier following them. Roxas merely picked up speed, not interested in having someone's medical bills piled on top on all the other bills he had yet to pay.

* * *

Roxas and Sora were 15 minutes late for their job interview.

Xigbar waved it off and told them that they had already gotten the job because he was the one in charge of the job interviews anyway, so put on your aprons and start working.

They started work 20 minutes late that day because Sora had to hold his brother back lest he murdered their uncle right there and then.

* * *

Axel stepped into the ice cream parlor 16 minutes after it opened that day.

He had to wait 7 minutes for his banana split since the beautiful blond who'd crashed into him earlier needed to resolve some issues with their manager before starting work. But it was time and money well spent, because he got to see the blond in an apron and serve him ice cream. And afterwards, the brunet twin (Axel assumed they were twins; they looked far too much alike to be just normal brothers, though he still thought that the blond was a lot cuter) had come up to him and apologize, telling him that he and Roxas hadn't meant to run into him.

So the pretty blond had a pretty name too.

2 hours after stepping foot inside, Roxas marched up to him and demanded that he stopped staring at him because it was quite disturbing, and hello, would you like another banana split? Axel just grinned at the way Roxas almost pouted in his restrained anger.

Another hour later, Xigbar was proud to introduce Roxas and Sora to their newest co-worker, Axel.

20 minutes into working on his first job, Axel got his hand slapped away when he tried to grope Roxas.

Still, at the end of their long day, in a brief instance where Roxas had let his guard down as he pulled his apron over his head, Axel managed to get lucky. He'd timed himself perfectly, and the moment the apron was pulled over the blond's eyes and before he could see properly, Axel leaned in immediately.

What resulted was a sound that punctuated the still air of the locker room.

Chu!

Backing away, Axel grinned widely. "Thanks for running into me today."

And he quickly hightailed it out of the ice cream parlor before Roxas could kill him or something. He laughed when he heard the sounds of random destruction behind him.

* * *

That night, Axel called Demyx over the phone.

"I can tell, Dem. It's going to be the start of a beautiful relationship," he said.

20 days after starting work, Demyx asked Axel if he was still so sure about that after Roxas turned his ice cream tray into a formidable weapon and thwacked him repeatedly over the head for standing within 5 kilometers of himself.

Of course he was. Especially when Axel managed to get another kiss full on the lips 25 days into their jobs, when he'd bent over too low to tease Roxas and Roxas had turned around too abruptly.

That was certainly worth another attack by the blond's killer tray.

-tbc-

**Teaser for next chapter (tentative):** Unbeknownst to the students, the teachers of Radiant High had their own cork board in the staff lounge. Staff bonding, the headmaster said. Well, little did he know that it was the perfect place for the teachers to discuss and gossip about the latest couple in school. How had that Leon gotten Cloud to confess his feelings, anyway?

**A/N: **My first Axel/Roxas fic. Ever. XDD Hope it was enjoyable for you guys! And please comment and review if you enjoyed it! This part was tough to write, because I've never written AkuRoku as the primary pairing before. But I love it, and I hope you will too!


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